Heartbreak Ch. 4

Hisao leaned on the railing of the Nijubashi bridge, staring into the water below. It had been Lilly's idea, upon hearing about an excursion to Tokyo, to visit the old Imperial Palace, and Misha had told Hisao that this was the opportune place to talk to her.

There were tourists by the masses. Most were obviously Americans, though Hisao could spot a few Japanese families among the crowd. He smiled. A memory, no, it wasn't memory anymore, it was a dream from another life. He was about eight, on vacation in Tokyo with his parents to this very palace. He didn't know why he was remembering that now. Maybe it was because that was the last major trip he'd taken before his life had changed. Before the accident. Before Yamaku Academy. Before Lilly.

He was drawn away from the memory. Now his mind centered on the day he had the accident. He'd woken from the dream he once called life, and had desperately wanted to go back to sleep. He couldn't. The real world beckoned. Here he was different. Here, he was abnormal. Here, he was crippled. Defective.

That day he'd met a beautiful woman named Lilly Satou., and she had helped him come to respect himself and once again consider himself a human. He may be different, but that didn't mean it was a bad thing..

His mind froze. They were here. About fifty feet away, he saw her. She looked the exact same as she had the day she left. She wore the same clothes, as well. Hisao found himself half-staring at her. In front of her, leading her by the hand, was Shizune, and bringing up the caboose, Misha, a huge grin on her face.

"Where are we going?" Lilly asked calmly.

Good. She doesn't know.

"We're here." Misha said, stopping. Shizune stopped too, guiding Lilly's hand to the railing. " We're on the Nijubashi bridge. The view is beautiful. Want me to describe it?"

Lilly giggled. "Sure."

"Well the bridge and the nature is beautiful, but there's something else here that I think you'd like more. Blondish hair, sweater vest, ridiculous choice in pants…"

"What are you…" Lilly trailed off.

"And arrhythmia."

Lilly spun around at the familiar voice. "No…"

"Hi, Satou." Hisao felt as though he didn't deserve to use her name. He decided to go formal.

Lilly was silent, looking in Hisao's direction. She didn't look happy. Not at all. "You…" she began. "You… you tricked me…" she said, looking into his soul with her empty eyes. "You knew I didn't want to see you but you-"

"Had to do this in person." Misha said, not drawing Lilly's blank stare.

"Lilly…" Hisao didn't move closer. "I only wanted to talk in person. I feel like it'd be better to talk face to face."

"What difference does it make to me, Hisao?"

Her tone… It was the same Hisao's had been that day at the Shanghai. "Lilly, I didn't agree to come here with any delusions of you falling for me. That was all Misha."

"Then why?"

"Because I love you. Regardless of how you feel now. Because you're the best thing that ever happened to my life… When you left I got worse than ever. It's like I'm coming off of a high."

Lilly said nothing.

"Do you remember the weekend we spent in Hokkaido?" Hisao said, tone now even.

"Of course I do. How dare you bring that up here. After all this!"

"Then you should remember something I said to you after you confessed to me. I promised you that I would never go away."

Lilly froze, her look retreating to that of a scared child. "I… remember…"

"And what did you do?" Hisao didn't let up.

Lilly stared.

"What did you do?" Hisao repeated.

A tear fell from the beautiful cheek of the blind girl in front of him.

"Tell me what you did!" Hisao yelled. "Say it! Tell me!"

The floodgates tore open. Lilly dropped to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Misha stared at Hisao in a mixture of anger and shock.

"You broke the promise yourself, Lilly." Hisao said, finally walking to her, kneeling, so their faces were even. "The feeling you're getting right now…" he whispered. "That's how I felt. There's a difference though."

Lilly barely raised her head. "W-what…?"

"I'm not going to let you stay this way." Hisao said, now loud enough for Misha. He wrapped his arms around Lilly's slender form, and hugged her tight. "I don't care if you hate me for it. In fact, if you hated me this would be over pretty fast."

Lilly felt limp in his arms. "I… I can't hate you." she said, still crying. "I tried to when you yelled at me at the Shanghai. I tried so hard…"

"You idiot." Hisao said, tone slightly light. "You're too forgiving."

"I…"

"Shh." Hisao said, finally easing his embrace. "Shock treatment can do great things." he said with humor in his voice. "I never thought I'd get to hug you again."

Misha smiled at the scene, and looked at Shizune. [Think they're gonna be okay?] she signed.

Shizune took a while to respond, looking on for a few long seconds. [They should be fine.].

"Hisao…" Lilly began. "I need… time to think about this." Tears were still forming in her eyes, but they were much less frequent. "But I'd like it if you would accompany me to my father's funeral."

Hisao smiled. "I'll be there." He helped Lilly to her feet, and they kept their hands together, fingers lightly intertwined.

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